PORSCHE: desirable product

Advanced level: Unit objectives

In this unit:

• Grammar: Countable and uncountable nouns

• Functional Vocabulary: Scale of likelihood

• Listening Exercises: Porsche’s success

• Cultural Awareness Point: Speeding

• Pronunciation: Vowel sounds /ai/ or /ei/

• Reading: Porsche company history

• Role Play: Meeting to discuss a new model / market

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Introduction:

Discuss these questions:

• Which other car companies does Porsche compete with in the market?

• Why buy a Porsche?

Listening exercise 1: Listen to a spokesperson, talk about the Porsche company. Answer the questions below. NOTE: The questions are not in chronological order

Pronunciation practice: vowel sounds - /ai/ or /ei/ Practice saying these words and put them into the correct vowel sound box

CHILD - PINT - SAILOR - EYE - SPACE - CAKE - WEIGHT - DECIDE - POLITE - WAVE - RAIN -

QUITE - FREIGHT - GREY - SHY - AISLE - ICE - FAIL – HEIGHT – SHEIK – AIR – NIGHT - IDEA

/ai/ CHILD /ei/ SAILOR

1. Who owns a majority share in Porsche?

2. What does the 911 model define?

3. Which other car companies does Porsche compete with in the market?

4. Are most of Porsche’s cars produced in Eastern Europe and the Far East?

5. What is the company slogan?

6. When was Porsche founded?

7. Is Porsche the most profitable car company in the world?

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Question: Do you get a lot of information or informations from the car company?

Grammar review:

Countable and uncountable nouns

Nouns in English are either countable or uncountable, and often mistakes are made with some of the irregular ones. 1. Countable Nouns: • These can be used in plural, take determiners such as: many, these, those, a lot, a few • They are used with one/ones

e.g. many managers are well paid - A lot of cars were sold last year but these ones weren’t. 2. Countable nouns include many concrete nouns i.e. • The names of individual things (a factory, a computer) • Units of measurements (a kilo, a metre) • Individual parts of a mass (a piece of advice, a news item, a piece of furniture) 3. Uncountable Nouns • Do not take ‘the’ when used in a general sense – time is money • Have words like much, little before them – we are not making much profit 4. Uncountable nouns include: • Many abstract nouns (hope, importance) • Substances (water, gold, petrol) Some of the more common uncountable nouns are: Behaviour Advice Accommodation Advertising Publicity Equipment Research Transport Luggage Information Staff Evidence News Furniture Damage Work

Exercise: Choose the correct word in italics.

1. They gave us plenty of advices/advice on how to deal with him.

2. They have a new/ a news item about the promotion

3. There was a lot of damages/damage to the airplane.

4. I have two suitcase/suitcases to check in.

5. Porsche did a lot of research/researches into the market.

6. We have a lot of hopes/hope for the new plan

7. Plenty of publicity is/are very important for Porsche

8. We need some furniture/furnitures for the office.

9. Here is/are some evidence/evidences to look at.

10. A lot of executive/executives work hard.

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Reading: The man behind Porsche’s success Exercise: Put a correct noun into the gaps (two are not needed) and explain the underlined words. The amazing success of Porsche in recent years is down to Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking. The in 2007 is that it has sales of more than $10 billion, with profits exceeding $1 billion. He is now the highest paid executive in Germany, earning an estimated $90 million year. Wiedeking’s passion for cars came from his grandmother. “She gave me the pocket money to buy toy cars when I was a boy, and a lot of good when I was growing up,” he said. In addition, other events shaped his life. When he was 15 his father died, and Wiedeking learnt very quickly to set clear goals in life and concentrate on achieving them. “I realised what ambition meant and how I could achieve my dreams. I also learnt that if you want something, you must take risks, show initiative and work hard. And that is exactly what I strive to do,” he said. Wiedeking was employed by Porsche when the company was in serious trouble. It had been losing money since 1988 and was on the verge of bankruptcy. The Porsche family needed someone to rescue the business, and fast. Wiedeking was the right man at the right time. He had vision. By 1993 Porsche was producing fewer than 15,000 cars a year and making huge losses. During the 1980s Porsche had become a national joke in Germany as the sports car favoured by men who wore a lot of gold, or were having a middle-life crisis, and the company was low. “Nothing was working, not a single department,” said Wiedeking. As cars rolled off the production line, quality controllers were sending them back to have faults corrected. “We had to improve and do it quickly or the would be irreparable. We were going under,” he added. Within a year Porsche was back in profit and climbing steadily. Between 1994 and 2004 profits rose from $2 million to $3 billion, and with a re-branding we enjoyed a lot of good . Wiedeking is known around the world as a man who knows the automobile industry inside out, and the for this is clear. However, many ordinary Germans admire Wiedeking because they see him as a defender of Germany’s industrial heritage.

damage - advice - image – news - evidence - publicity – information - equipment

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Functional vocabulary: Scale of likelihood This is used in business to express certainty and possibility. For example: I can’t possibly lower the price of the 911 to below $55,000 Form:

Note: The word ‘odds’ means probability. E.g. it is odds on that fares will go down. The odds are against it happening.

Certainty I am (absolutely) sure that … fuel prices will increase certain that … fuel prices will increase positive that … fuel prices will increase Fuel prices are certain to increase

bound to increase sure to increase

Probability It is very likely that fuel prices will increase It is highly probable that fuel prices will increase Fuel prices should increase

Possibility Fuel prices may increase Fuel prices might well increase Fuel prices could increase

Improbability It is highly unlikely that fuel prices will increase It is highly improbable that fuel prices will increase

Impossibility I am (absolutely) sure that fuel prices won’t increase I am convinced that fuel prices won’t increase

Cultural Awareness Point: Speeding In the UK driving speeds are carefully controlled and the public normally respect the law. Speed limits are enforced using cameras, and anyone caught speeding (even by a little) is punished with a fine and points on their license. Many people think this is necessary, but others think it is too strict and a way of making money. Speaking practice: • Does your culture/nationality enforce speeding limits? • Do you think drivers should be punished for speeding? How?

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Exercise: Choose the correct phrase from the Scale of Likelihood exercise for each gap. In some cases more than one option is possible. 1. Porsche is having an excellent year. Company profits are go up.

2. I am that import tax will remain the same.

3. It is unclear at the moment but due to the lawsuit it is we will survive.

4. The company open franchises in Turkey, but it all depends on the cost.

5. The of that happening are extremely slim.

6. Fuel prices fall next year, but we buy ours three years in advance.

7. It is that he will take the job.

8. With these prices the order book be full.

Listening exercise 2: Listen and answer the questions below. Note: The questions are not in chronological order

Role-Play

Split the students into two teams. Case study: Porsche’s CEO and Design Team want a new model aimed at the eco-friendly driver. CEO: you want to create a car that is a hybrid (petrol and electric powered) – similar to Toyota’s Prius He sees the success of the Prius as a strong indication of the future market. Designers: think of an alternative e.g. bio-fuel car, completely electric car. Both teams should prepare a presentation and be ready to argue for your ideas.

1. How many marques does Porsche control? Give examples.

2. Has the company always been successful?

3. How much money did Porsche invest in Volkswagen?

4. According to the president, what is the company’s aim?

5. Is Porsche the biggest automotive business in the world?

6. What makes the Porsche business model so successful?

7. What is the future plan for the company?

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Audio script 1 – Porsche adv

Porsche AG was founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, an engineer, who was born in Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic), and who also designed the first Volkswagen. The headquarters are in Stuttgart, Germany and the CEO and President is Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking. Porsche employs over 12,000 workers and the company revenue in 2006 was $15 billion, up from $13 billion in 2005. The company is majority owned by the Austrian Porsche and Piëch families. As a company, Porsche is known for weathering changing market conditions with great financial stability. It retains the majority of its production in Germany in a time when most other German car manufacturers are moving their factories to Eastern Europe or the Far East. The 911 is Porsche's most well-known model, and in many ways it defines the Porsche brand. In 2002 the company introduced the Cayenne model, a sports utility vehicle, which is also extremely popular. Porsche has the highest profit-per-unit of any car company in the world, although its total profits are significantly lower than Toyota's. The company slogan is: ‘There Is No Substitute.’ Porsche's traditional rivals are its fellow German automakers Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW, as well as Lotus, Jaguar, and Maserati. Ferrari, on the other hand, competes more directly with firms such as Lamborghini, Bugatti and Aston Martin.

Audio script 2 – Porsche adv In March 2008 Porsche took control of Europe's largest automotive manufacturer, Volkswagen, by investing around $15 billion and raising its stake in company to more than 50%. VW recently bought the Swedish company, Scania, so the result is a global industrial giant that includes carmakers Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Seat and Skoda, and two truck manufacturers. The combined group now has 11 marques. "Our aim is to create one of the strongest and most innovative automobile alliances in the world, so we can compete across all the international markets," the President said. On a profit-per-unit basis Porsche is the best, so how does its business model manage to be so profitable? The manufacturer grew by meeting demand for its very expensive cars. In spite of the extremely high profit margin, demand for the cars continues to be strong. The profit margin on a Porsche is greater than Range Rover and close to Bentley, yet they sell 100,000 models a year. But it’s not always been so good at making money. In the early 1990s the company was in deep trouble with high production costs and unsuccessful models, such as the 928. Then they made Wiedeking the CEO and he restructured the business, brought out new models, and invested in other companies. Now the future plan is for a company to compete with the strength of Toyota, whose growth over the last decade has been the biggest competitive challenge facing car companies in Europe and America. A combined Porsche-VW business will be the largest automotive company in the world.

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Lesson plan - Porsche - advanced

Key objectives – to practise aural and oral Business English INTRODUCTION: Start by asking students what they know about Porsche. Teacher (T) - Students (SS) 5 mins LISTENING EXERCISE 1: Next tell students they are going to hear a spokesperson talking about Porsche. They need to answer the questions at the end. Play the Listening Exercise and ask students the questions. (T) - (SS) 10 mins PRONUNCIATION POINT: Get the students to read the words and put them into the correct box. Drill where necessary (T) - (SS) 10 mins GRAMMAR: Ask the question and see if anyone can come up with other examples of uncountable nouns. Go on through the examples and do the exercises that follow. Ask students to read the questions and answers out loud. (S) – (T) 5 mins READING: Find out if any of the students know anything about Porsche’s Chairman? Go through the reading exercise and ask students to read out loud and fill in the gaps with an appropriate uncountable noun. (S) – (T) 10 mins CULTURAL AWARENESS POINT: Read the short text on Speeding and discuss the questions that follow. (T) - (SS) 10 mins FUNCTIONAL VOCABULARY: Write down on the whiteboard ‘Bound to’ and ‘Odds on’ and ask if anyone knows what they mean. Go to the exercise (T) - (SS) 10 mins Go to LISTENING EXERCISE 2: Tell students they are going to hear the 2nd part of the Listening Exercise about Porsche. They need to answer the questions at the end. They are not in the correct order. Play the Listening Exercise (SS) – (T) 10 mins Go to ROLE PLAY: Split students into groups and get them to read their role cards and prepare to discuss the situation. Make sure they practice the grammar and vocabulary learnt in the lesson and to try and use the case study material in their argument. (SS) - (SS) 10 mins

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Exercise answers – Porsche Advanced

Listening Exercise 1: 1. Austrian Porsche and Piëch families 2. It defines the Porsche brand 3. Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW, as well as Lotus, Jaguar, and Maserati. 4. No, in Germany 5. There Is No Substitute. 6. 1931 7. Porsche has the highest profit-per-unit of any car company in the world, although its total profits are

significantly lower than Toyota's. Pronunciation Exercise:

/ai/ child eye decide polite quite shy aisle ice height night despite idea

/ei/ sailor space cake wave rain grey fail weight freight sheik air training

Grammar: Exercise: 1. They gave us plenty of advice on how to deal with him. 2. They have a news item about the promotion 3. There was a lot of damage to the airplane. 4. I have two suitcases to check in. 5. Porsche did a lot of research into the market. 6. We have a lot of hope for the new plan 7. Plenty of publicity is very important for Porsche 8. We need some furniture for the office. 9. Here is some evidence to look at. 10. A lot of executives work hard. Reading: Exercise: 1. News 2. Advice 3. Image 4. Damage 5. Publicity 6. Evidence Functional Vocabulary: Exercise: 1. sure to/bound to 2. absolutely convinced 3. highly unlikely 4. may/might 5. odds 6. might 7. odds 8. should.

Listening Exercise practice 2: 1. 11 marques including: Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Seat and Skoda, and two truck manufacturers. 2. No, in the early 1990s – the company was in deep trouble with high production costs and unsuccessful

models (the 928). 3. Around $15 billion 4. To create one of the strongest and most innovative automobile alliances in the world, which is able to

measure up to the sharply increased international competition. 5. No - the combined company of Porsche and VW will be the biggest automotive business in the world. 6. Porsche grew by meeting demand for its very expensive cars. In spite of the extremely high profit

margin, demand for the cars continues to be strong. 7. To compete with Toyota, whose growth over the last decade has been the biggest competitive challenge

facing car companies in Europe and America.

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